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2 boys, 3 adults shot to death in Illinois town

By REGINA GARCIA CANO Associated Press

Posted:
04/24/2013 08:17:46 AM MDT

Updated:
04/24/2013 08:48:31 PM MDT

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This undated photo provided by the Illinois State Police shows Rick Smith, 43, of rural Morgan County in Illinois. Smith has been identified as the suspected gunman in the shooting deaths of five people, two women, one man and two young boys, in Manchester, Ill., early Wednesday morning, April 24, 2013. Smith died later after a car chase and gunfire exchange with police.

MANCHESTER, Ill.—The nephew of a small-town Illinois mayor shot and killed five people, including two boys, before leading police on a chase that ended in an exchange of gunfire that left him dead, authorities said Wednesday.

Illinois State Police said they believe Rick O. Smith, 43, entered a Manchester home through the back door and shot the victims at close range with a shotgun, leaving two women, one man and the boys dead. Two people were found in a bedroom, two in a second bedroom and the man in the hallway. A sixth victim, a 6-year-old girl, was injured and taken to a Springfield hospital.

"The offender took the 6-year-old out of the residence and put her in the hands of a neighbor," State Police Lt. Col. Todd Kilby said.

Officials have not revealed a motive for the killings. Police said the victims are related. Authorities believe Smith and the victims were acquainted, but they didn't provide details of the relationships.

A bystander called police and told them that Smith fled the home in a white sedan. A car chase ensued, leading authorities to the nearby town of Winchester, where Smith and officers exchanged gunfire. Officers shot Smith, and he later died at a hospital.

Police said they found a rifle, shotgun and large hunting knife in Smith's car.

Coroner officials said they plan autopsies on the victims Thursday morning in Bloomington and identities would be released at that time.

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Scott County State's Attorney Michael Hill said Smith, of rural Morgan County, had previous convictions for reckless homicide, drugs and bad checks.

Manchester Mayor Ronald Drake confirmed that Smith was his nephew, saying he hadn't spoken to Smith in two years, but he believed his nephew was unemployed. Drake said the last time Smith contacted him was to borrow tools.

In Manchester, yellow police tape surrounded the small one-story brick home where the victims were found. Manchester is a village of about 300 residents located about 50 miles west of Springfield.

"It's a close-knit community," Drake said. "Everybody talks to everybody. ... We enjoy that goes on (in) town. This is just a tragedy for (the) whole town."

The last homicide in Scott County was 20 years ago, in 1993.

Manchester resident Julie Hardwick, 48, said she lives in the same county housing authority complex as the victims. Authorities told her she couldn't return to her home yet because of the investigation, she said.

"The kids were really nice," Hardwick said of the family. "You couldn't ask for better kids."

The Rev. Robin Lyons of Manchester United Methodist Church, one of two churches in the community said, "this shows tragedy can happen anywhere."

Two area school superintendents said they received calls from county sheriffs before 6 a.m. informing them that five people had been shot to death at a house in Manchester and that a suspect was at large.

Superintendent David Roberts of the Winchester School District and Les Stevens of the North Greene Unit District No. 3 both said they immediately canceled classes when they were told of the shootings and that other school districts did the same.

Roberts said the wounded girl is a student at Winchester Grade School and her teacher was with her at the Springfield hospital.

The school will use its own counselor, nurse and other staff members to help students who need to talk, Roberts said. Other area districts have offered to help too.

Roberts said he also will call on area ministers to be available on campus. "I've found that to be helpful in the past," he said.

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Associated Press writers Don Babwin and Jason Keyser in Chicago and David Mercer in Champaign, Ill., contributed to this report.

New iPads, Mac system expected at Apple event

By Anick Jesdanun AP Technology Writer

Posted:
10/15/2014 10:30:02 PM MDT

Updated:
10/15/2014 11:13:45 PM MDT

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FILE - In this Sept. 19, 2014, file photo, a group of visitors to the Apple store descends a staircase to the showroom below to purchase the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, in New York. Apple Inc. is expected to unveil new iPads at an event Thursday, Oct. 16 as the company tries to drive excitement amid slowing demand for tablet computers. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, File)

CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — Apple Inc. is expected to unveil new iPads at an event Thursday, as the company tries to drive excitement amid slowing demand for tablet computers. Apple may also announce a new Mac operating system and possibly new Mac computers. Watchers also await a possible launch date for Apple Pay, the company's new system for using iPhones to make credit and debit card payments at retail stores.

As usual, Apple isn't disclosing what it plans to reveal at its headquarters in Cupertino, California, Thursday. Invites to its event carried the cryptic message, "It's been way too long." CEO Tim Cook is expected to preside over the event, which begins at 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. EDT).

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NEW IPADS:

It's been a year since Apple came out with a lighter, thinner full-size model called the iPad Air. Apple is expected to refresh that with a faster processor and possibly a fingerprint ID sensor akin to what's found on recent iPhones. The sensor would let people use a fingerprint instead of a passcode to unlock the device and authorize Apple Pay purchases.

Apple also might offer an iPad with a gold-colored casing, another option already available on iPhones. An updated iPad Mini might be part of the new lineup.

Thursday's event comes as sales of Apple's iPads have dropped. Through the first half of this year, Apple had shipped 29.6 million iPads, a 13 percent drop from the same time last year. Apple plans to issue results for the latest quarter on Monday.

Apple has been facing competition from cheaper tablets running Google's Android operating system. Ahead of Apple's event, Google announced Wednesday that an 8.9-inch Nexus 9 tablet is coming next month at a starting price of $399, $100 less than the 9.7-inch iPad Air. It will run a new version of Android, dubbed Lollipop.

Besides competition, there's been an overall slowdown in tablet demand. This week, research firm Gartner projected worldwide shipments of 229 million tablets this year. Although that's up 11 percent compared with 2013, it's far less than the 55 percent growth seen last year and the more than doubling in sales in 2012.

More than half of U.S. households own at least one tablet, and the rest include people who may not want one or can't afford it, Gartner analyst Mika Kitagawa said.

While wireless carriers often subsidize smartphones to bring the price down to about $200, customers typically pay full price for tablets — starting at $499 for the iPad Air.

She said people are more likely to view a smartphone as essential, while they may use a smartphone or a traditional computer for many of the functions that a tablet can perform. In addition, some tablet owners are now buying hybrid devices that combine a tablet with a lightweight, detachable keyboard. Many of those run on Microsoft's Windows system. Gartner counts those as personal computers, not tablets.

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MAC UPDATES

Apple has said a new Mac operating system is coming this fall, so there's been speculation that the company will use Thursday's event to announce more specifics, including timing.

The Mac update will be called Yosemite and will include aesthetic changes as well as new functionality, such as the ability to make phone calls with an iPhone nearby and a one-stop search tool for both locally stored documents and online resources.

Apple has been releasing Mac updates more frequently, in part to time them with annual changes to the iOS system for iPhones and iPads. Many of the new Mac features will complement what's found in iOS 8, including the ability to start tasks such as email on one device and finish on another.

Starting last year, Apple has made its Mac updates available as a free download.

Apple may also use the event to announce new Mac computers. The company released new laptops last October, and there's speculation new iMac desktops are in store.

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APPLE PAY

Apple has already announced its new payments system, Apple Pay, but the iPhone feature wasn't made available right away. Apple is due to release an iOS 8.1 update that should enable Apple Pay and the ability to send and receive iPhone texts from Macs.

With Apple Pay, iPhone 6 and 6 Plus owners will be able to make payments at brick-and-mortar stores by holding their phone near a card reader. The new iPhones have a wireless chip to transmit the information needed to complete the transaction. Owners of older models won't be able to use Apple Pay, even with the software update.

Apple already has announced some of the credit card issuers and retailers expected to enable Apple Pay. More details may come Thursday.

Consumers aren't likely to abandon plastic credit cards until a majority of retailers, especially smaller merchants, accept contactless payments such as Apple Pay. But Apple Pay may spur transactions over mobile Web browsers and apps this holiday season, since it lets consumers avoid typing in credit card information each time.

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